Limbo
by Apheleia
Summary: Weird things happen when people show up at your door drunk—for example, a Fire Dragon Slayer might beg you to teach him about what goes on between the sheets. (However, to be fair, maybe she wasn't thinking so clearly either when she said yes...)
1. Bets

Sometimes, you meet someone who is just so..._irresistibly insane_, and the fact is that they're so insanely irresistible that you can't quite stay away from them even if you tried, if you wanted to, and before you know it, you've caught a bit (or a lot) of their insanity and it starts growing on you and after that you only have so many options.

I met someone like that. While I am a writer, he is part dragon; I love cliches, he'd rather make his own norm; I love fantasizing, he prefers to make his dreams reality; I love it when sparks fly, he only cares about sparks when they're from a duel; I love the concept of love and wholly trusting your body and soul with someone else, he adores the concept of friendship and trusting everything to an ally.

I believe that the reason for each of love's first meetings is simply because of the two in question themselves and that in some unique way of their own, they were the ones who brought each other into each others' lives. He doesn't have the first clue when it comes to romance.

My mother passed away when I was young, and my father, grief-stricken, became only a detached shell of his former self. As a result, I grew up under his blasé reign and spent a large portion of my childhood time with a few gossipy, teenage maids who taught me about the real world a decade in advance. He, on the other hand, never knew his biological parents, and the closest thing he had to a guardian was a dragon who wasn't as well-versed in homo sapien ways as a human parent would've been. As a result, he grew up a fierce, loyal, powerful, yet somewhat naive Mage.

It's funny how those little tidbits were the cause of our first meeting.

(And, depending on who you ask, it is also either mortifying or uproarious how it brought us..._together_-together.)

* * *

l*l

* * *

"Team Natsu's done it again!" proclaimed a pink-haired boy loudly, throwing his face into a wide but contented grin as he put his hands behind his head. There was an obvious skip in his step, presumably from the easy yet rewarding mission they had just completed (and successfully, as in no major destruction).

"Aye!" cheered Happy, a small winged, cerulean cat who floated alongside him.

"For the last time, why is it Team _Natsu_?" said the raven next to said mascot of their team, his white coat billowing out around him with each step he took. With a sneer, he stuck his hands into his dark pants and said, "If you ask me, Team Gray sounds a helluva lot better."

"Well, nobody was asking you, droopy eyes," snapped Natsu.

"Obviously, nobody asked you when you were naming the team either, _slanty eyes_," sniped Gray.

"Natsu...Gray," began a voice menacingly, resulting in both boys clamping up immediately as they exchanged looks and then slowly and hesitantly looking back at the source which was their powerful redhead comrade, Erza. Her sharp mahogany eyes were peering intently at the two in front of her and sending them a very clear message.

"But uh it's okay because Team Natsu is a great name! It's the best in the world and you couldn't have picked a better one!" laughed Gray quickly and jovially, slinging an arm around Natsu's shoulders.

"Nah, Team Gray sounds just as good if not better, you know!" exclaimed Natsu, equally quickly and nervously as he returned the gesture and began skipping, which Gray copied.

"You know, Lucy, I don't get why you say Natsu and Gray don't get along well. They usually seem fine to me," remarked Erza to the blonde beside her, who laughed in exasperation.

"To _you_," said Lucy pointedly, knowing full well how antagonistic the two usually were but how friendly they turned whenever in Erza's presence. Her words elicited a shrug from the redhead who carried on lugging her massive cart of suitcases.

"Well, anybody want to go back to Fairy Tail for a celebratory drink?" asked Gray, walking normally now and having already unhinged himself from Natsu.

"What's there to celebrate?" said Erza, genuinely confused.

"Two hundred thousand jewels in less than a day and just for protecting an old rich fart from the Jiggle Butt Gang? That's plenty of reason to celebrate," said Gray with a smirk as he looked back at the two girls.

"It could've been easier with Wendy, though," mused Lucy, stepping up onto the stone railing separating the sidewalk and a freefall down into the canal that divided Magnolia.

"Ah, well, that couldn't be helped," said Natsu with a small shrug. "She was with Romeo on his first mission today, right?"

"Yeah," said Lucy, smiling at the thought of the young Sky Dragon Slayer and the aspiring mini-Natsu. Despite Wendy's protests that there was absolutely nothing between them, Lucy knew them too well (and perhaps had also read one too many romance novels) to let them off so easily.

"They liiike each other," giggled Happy, unknowingly voicing Lucy's thoughts out loud. The Exceed's teasing resulted in a few eye rolls and small smiles from the group, but then Natsu changed the topic again.

"So, you two comin' back to Fairy Tail with us?" he asked, directing his words to Lucy and Erza.

"And get insanely drunk?" said the blonde disdainfully, to which the Fire and Ice Mages nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks, but I think I'm going to head home."

"It's only eight," protested Natsu.

"I'll just take a long bath and catch up on some writing."

"That's fine," said Gray, cutting off Natsu who had his mouth open to undoubtedly try to talk her into getting completely wasted with them some more. The Ice Mage flickered his gaze to focus on the redhead. "What about you, Erza?"

"I'll meet up with you at Fairy Tail after I drop my luggage home," she replied as they approached a crossroad. Both she and Lucy looked up at the signposts and read the street names that were printed on them.

"Then I guess this is where I'm leaving you guys," said Lucy breezily as she fluidly hopped back down onto the sidewalk. She took a few steps west of the direction the rest of her friends were heading before turning back to them, a grin on her face. "See you tomorrow!"

"Aye!" chirped Happy.

"Yeah!" called Gray and Natsu simultaneously, though the raven was the one to continue with, "Good work today!"

"You too!" replied Lucy, her back already turned towards them as she began the lonesome trek back to her apartment. A short moment later, the rest of Team Natsu resumed their traipse back to the Fairy Tail area.

* * *

The Fairy Tail building was rather empty on that particular evening with about an hour left until midnight. Natsu and a half-naked Gray (whose shirt had mysteriously disappeared at some point) were sitting at the bar with drinks in hand (though Mirajane had already refilled their glasses at least eight times each and was now closely watching them), and the fact that they were quickly on their way to wasted (if they weren't already) was evident. Erza had left a while ago when she had reached the point of tipsy, and now, the only other people left in the first floor of the guild were Cana (who was straddling a barrel that was undoubtedly holding nothing but alcohol), Macao, Wakaba, and Mirajane.

"Sooooo, Natsuuu...talked to any girls lately?" slurred Gray, clapping a hard hand onto Natsu's back, making him jerk forward violently.

"O' course," mumbled Natsu, his eyes slightly out of focus. "There's Luceh, 'nd Erza, 'nd Mira...'nd I talked ta Levy a few days ago."

"Yuh blubberin' idiot!" drawled Gray, laughing loudly. "Did ya get any of 'em into bed?"

"No..."

"Did ya _wan_na get any of 'em into bed?"

"No..."

"Then it doesn't count," said the Ice Mage with a tone of finality and another chortle before he lifted the glass of alcohol up to his lips again.

"Why not?" demanded Natsu, glaring up at Gray through his drunken stupor.

"'Cause I was talkin' about if you slept with any of them," said Gray loftily, "which you _didn't_. 'Cause ya _suck_."

"I slept with Luceh the otha night," said Natsu indignantly, taking a swig from his cup.

"Ya dense doof, that doesn't count 'cause literally all ya do is sleep," snorted Gray. "I'm talkin' 'bout the _other _def'nition of sleep."

"You mean—ohhh," slurred Natsu, realization slowly dawning on his face.

"Get it now? Geez, by the way ya think, ya think ya'd be a virgin."

And Natsu was silent at that, only staring determinedly at his glass as he gently swished the alcohol inside back and forth. Gray stared at the Dragon Slayer for a few long moments as the pieces came together in his intoxicated mind.

"Hell, yer a vir-!" he yelled, but he was abruptly cut off by Natsu's fist that had made hard, fast contact with his face.

The sound attracted a few curious gazes—namely, Cana and Mirajane, but the former was just as drunk as them and the latter had a task of cleaning a mountain of dishes. Besides, Natsu and Gray getting physical was nothing surprising or even concerning.

"...Ya bastard," Gray eventually grumbled, rubbing the spot on his cheek where Natsu had punched him.

"Only if you don't shut up," muttered Natsu moodily, Gray's revelation clearly getting the coral-haired boy down.

"You're eighteen," continued Gray, though more quietly. "And yer a _virgin_."

"Missions," mumbled Natsu but dejectedly setting his chin on the bar counter as if he himself knew that his string of excuses won't be worth much anyways. "Trainin'...findin' Igneel..."

"Excuses," scoffed Gray.

"And you?" said Natsu defensively, narrowing his eyes.

"Been 'round the block a few times," he replied, lazily swirling his drink around in its glass. "One of my best was on a mission, so no excuses for yuh there. All I can say is...you're missing out."

"Not everyone has as little self-respect as you to be strippin' the moment y'see somethin' breathing," retorted Natsu.

Ignoring the crude implication, Gray allowed a mischievous smirk to grace his face before continuing, "So I have a proposition."

"What?" grunted Natsu.

"Land a girl. A bar, a mission, whatever—I don't care. Catch is that she's gotta come back the next day and ask ya for a round two, _and _you only get a month. If ya do this...then I won't put up a job on the request board sayin' 'Client: Natsu Dragneel; job: get my virginity'," said Gray, snickering at his clever and _hilarious _idea and at Natsu's paling face.

"Y'strippin' bastard," the Fire Dragon Slayer finally spit out after a few seconds.

"Ain't up to it?" said Gray, smirking.

Natsu snorted. "Nah, just wonderin' what I get if I win."

"Hm...how's fifty thousand?"

A wide grin spread across Natsu's face, and he reached out his hand in a sort of drunken imbalance. Gray's eyes followed the pink-haired boy's arm before it finally registered in his inebriated mind somewhere that it was a handshake, so with an equally wide grin, he clasped Natsu's hand and shook hard.

"Deal."

* * *

A contented yet pleasurable sigh spilled from Lucy's mouth as she lowered herself into her bathtub, her eyes fluttering shut as the fragrant and soapy lukewarm water embraced her body. Ever since she joined Fairy Tail all those months ago, it had been one large mission/adventure/enemy that required her to be away from home for long periods of time after another, but at the end of the day, the sensation of a soapy, blissful bath soothing her tired muscles never grew old.

She positioned herself so that she was sitting but tall enough to be able to lean her head back on the folded towel laid on the rim of the tub. Her mind quickly went to work thinking about the story she had just worked on for three or so hours, explaining why she was just bathing herself now. Plue was sitting on the opposite end, shakily supporting his pale frame while softly kicking his feet in and out of the water. Lucy smiled softly at the Spirit before dunking her head underwater a moment later. She stayed there a little while simply relaxing before there was a sudden, loud, _explosive_ pounding on her apartment door.

Lucy jolted up out of the water just in time to hear a voice that was unmistakably Natsu's holler, "Lucy! Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, _Lucy_, help!" while unrelentingly battering her door.

There was a moment of shock for the blonde, but she quickly composed herself again and then in a blur, the Celestial Spirit Mage had climbed out of her bathtub. She dripped water on every tile she hurried across before she reached her towel rack but damn it, did it matter? _Natsu never does this_, she thought in a panic as she hurriedly wrapped a fluffy white towel around her body, _it's got to be urgent! _With her hair still dripping wet, Lucy flung open her bathroom door to quickly cross the short distance to the entrance where a banging was still frantically abusing her apartment door.

A small corner of her mind hoped that her neighbors hadn't been disturbed as she shouted, "Alright, I'm coming!" and unlocked the door. She then turned the doorknob and pulled back her arm in one jerky motion, revealing a very familiar Dragon Slayer who was frozen mid-knock and had some sort of surprised expression on his face.

They stood there for a second, her heaving and clad in nothing but towel and water and eyes filled with nothing but urgency and worry while he stood there with his fist in a statuesque way and his regular clothes and a blank look despite the fact that _he _had been the one knocking so savagely.

"Natsu, what's wrong? Is somebody hurt? Are you alright?" she recited, quickly scanning her eyes over his body and immediately feeling a tad relieved that he, at least, seemed fine.

There was another moment of pause before Natsu's expression fell, molding first into shock, then into enormity. "Eh? Something's wrong? Who's hurt?!"

Lucy blinked as confusion flooded her mind. Eventually, though, it started coming together... "So...nobody's in trouble?" she asked, just to make sure the mental sigh of relief she was having was justified.

"Why would 'nybody be in trouble right now?" said Natsu, cocking his head.

Lucy could see that he was genuinely confused by the situation and, therefore, that he was not a bringer of bad news. She then proceeded to release a physical sigh of relief before wearily covering her face with her hand.

"Just...never mind," she said when she removed her palm and saw that Natsu was still wearing bewilderment all over his face. "What do you want? Do you even have any idea what time it is?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Natsu, his face seemingly lighting up at her questions. "I wanted ta ask you a favor, Luce!"

"Natsu, are you...are you _drunk_?" said Lucy hesitantly upon closer inspection of him and his speech patterns at the moment. Remembering what he, Gray, and Erza had said earlier about having a nighttime celebratory drink at the guild, Lucy proceeded to lightly sniff the air around him which resulted in her remarking, "You kind of smell like alcohol."

"Prooobably," drawled the Dragon Slayer happily, pushing past her and making his way to the middle of her main room and spinning around a few times before she could do anything.

"Stop!" she reprimanded him as she shut her apartment door and hastily moved over to the boy. "Stop, stop, stop, I don't want to end up cleaning your throw-up out of my carpet _again_!"

"Fiiine," mumbled Natsu, crestfallen and pouting as he dropped down into a criss-cross applesauce sitting position on the floor.

Lucy sighed again though this time was out of mild irritation. She swiftly bent down so that she was at the same height as him and affixed him with a stern gaze.

"Now, Natsu, why are you here at my apartment _drunk _at eleven thirty?"

"Told ya 'ready, Luce, I wanted ta ask ya a favor!"

"And what is that favor?" she asked wearily with a feeling that it was probably nothing good.

A puppy-doggish twinkle entered his glazed, onyx eyes then and he smiled a smile that would've been so sweet and innocent had it not been for his next few words that were spoken ten times more steadfastly than they should've been.

"I need ya to teach me how ta do _that _with a girl!"

Silence filled the room.

Lucy's face was blank. Her mouth was slightly agape. The hand making sure her towel stayed up slacked slightly. The only sound became the faint splashing of Plue's feet in the bathtub that suddenly seemed so far away. A large percentage of her mental processes shut down or, at the very least, froze. She wasn't sure, but time might have paused, too.

And all Natsu was doing was staring at her with those godforsaken puppy dog eyes and endearing grin.

Frankly, Lucy was floored.

"W-w-whaa _what_?" she finally stammered, fully aware of the blush creeping up her entire body and suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious about being clad in only a towel around Natsu. Standing up abruptly, she continued to sputter, "How could I possibly—...but you're my—..._why_ would you even_—_!"

Natsu frowned as he began swaying back and forth, and Lucy couldn't be sure if it was due to the alcohol or his own will (which, at the moment, probably would've resulted from the alcohol anyways). "Why nooot?" he whined.

"Because I—I'm not...I can't do that with you! We're friends, we're on the same team, and I just really can't be the person to teach you something like that!" she rambled, throwing up her free hand for added effect, and also flying her gaze everywhere along with her arm. "There's gotta be someone better you can ask if you have to do this, I'm really not the right person for the job, and...and you're drunk! I don't know what came over you for you to decide to get wasted and then march over here in the middle of the night just to ask something like this but you can't! We're not even in that kind of relationship so it'd be...it'd be wrong if we did it and I just—" She stopped abruptly when she suddenly registered a soft snoring wafting up to her ears and then, mechanically, she looked down to see Natsu slumped over and a small line of drool already creeping down the side of his mouth.

Once again, she was completely baffled.

Tiredly, Lucy meandered over to her bed and slowly sat down, her eyes never once leaving Natsu's unconscious figure. A long minute passed before, once again, she sighed and rose from her mattress. Eventually reasoning that she wasn't strong enough to lift him onto her bed or anything, the Celestial Spirit Mage reached for the stack of folded blankets in her dresser. With one hand, she threw open a quilt and laid it down over him while gently inserting a folded blanket between his head and the floor to serve as a makeshift pillow. When she was done, she stood up again and looked down at the boy again.

_He's pretty cute when he's sleeping and not shouting crazy things_, she thought, her eyes crinkling as she smiled softly at the sight of the Dragon Slayer so vulnerable. However, his "favor" suddenly came back to the front of her mind again, effectively erasing the smile and crinkles and all. With that, she turned off the light and quietly crossed the room back into the bathroom.

Once Lucy was safe within the confines of her restroom again, she locked the door, slipped off her towel, and stepped into her bath again which was several degrees cooler than it had been. Hardly even noticing Plue's confused smile, the Celestial Mage picked up where she left off, submerging her entire body underwater again.

This time, however, all thoughts of her book were put aside as she instead contemplated what on Earthland had just happened.

* * *

-*-x-*-

* * *

hahaha what did i just writelolomg

Anyways, review/follow(/fave?!111/?/1?!1/1?!1/) if you like, especially since there's more to come. :) Yes, this story is probably going to enter danger zone as far as T rating goes, but I'm going to try to keep it as downlow as possible (even when working with a topic like this ahaha what am i doing). In other words, you won't really be learning anything your middle school health class didn't teach you.

Thanks for reading!

-Apheleia


	2. Drunk

The next morning, Lucy woke up to numerous friendly morning greetings somewhere beyond her window in the form of chirping sparrows and a pleasant (yet a bit unwelcome) stream of sunlight. For the better part of a minute, she simply laid there in her bed, eyes shut with a small gracing smile. It was so_ peaceful_, completely unlike her beloved guild (even if she loved its members to bits), not to mention a certain Dragon Slayer who banged on people's doors in the middle of the night just to ask them to teach him how to—

...Speaking of Natsu, was that steady warm draft tickling her neck—?

_Maybe the worst part is that it's not even surprising anymore_, Lucy thought wearily as she slowly opened her eyes to see, sure enough, the normally rambunctious Mage on the other side of her bed. His body was facing her and his face close enough for her to feel his exhales. He had some sort of mildly goofy grin on his face even as he slept and lightly snored, which prompted Lucy's expression to soften. He'd never change, and maybe she was just fine with that.

While Lucy continued to trace the contours of his facial features with her eyes, she arrived at the conclusion that at some point during the night, he had taken it upon himself to climb into her bed. Honestly, the thought didn't even faze her anymore; it'd simply become a regular occurrence that she didn't and couldn't fight anyways.

At some point during her observations, though, her sight was beginning to turn rein over to her other senses. That resulted in Lucy quickly realizing how the mild stench of alcohol Natsu was emitting had kind of taken over her bed. Although that wasn't a huge concern in itself, it led her thoughts to last night and what he had done _because _of said alcohol...

Lucy immediately shot up like a thunderbolt at the memory, cringing as all thoughts of how adorably puppy-like Natsu was shoved out of her mind. In the process, however, she instinctively hit the Dragon Slayer hard enough so that he tumbled comically out of her bed with a loud thud. Staring down at the boy writhing on the ground, Lucy could only begin lining up the potential apologies in her mind and watch with a slightly mortified expression as Natsu's brow furrowed and he began stirring.

"Aaah...Lucy...why'd you do that," mumbled Natsu, slowly shifting into a sitting position with bleary eyes half-open and a hand rubbing his arm.

"Sorry!" the blonde said immediately, holding up her hands in some sort of mock surrender. When the Dragon Slayer tried to turn his head to look at her and winced upon being interrupted by the morning light, Lucy quickly realized that there was no way he wasn't suffering from a hangover. As she moved to get off of her bed to head for her kitchen, she gave the boy a pillow and said, "Ah, Natsu, stay right there! I'll get you some water and pills."

"How'd I end up here?" muttered Natsu though loud enough for Lucy to hear from the other room. He tucked the pillow behind him, leaned back into Lucy's dresser, and closed his eyes.

In the kitchen, Lucy nearly fumbled with opening the bottle of honey in her hands at his words, but she caught herself just in time. Sure, he had said some outrageous things last night, but he was drunk and there had been a chance that he wouldn't have remembered what he did anyways. She should've at least expected a scenario like that.

"You don't remember last night?" she said back tentatively as she squeezed honey and poured lemon juice into a cup of water, unsure of whether she should help him remember or not.

"I remember finishing our mission...and going back to the guild to drink with Gray and Erza…" said Natsu slowly, "and then...I woke up with a massive hangover, ow..."

Lucy was silent as she set the glass of honey, lemon and water onto a plate along with a few small pain reliever pills. Carefully, she carried the entire plate back into her bedroom where Natsu was cradling his head in his hands and still on the floor. As she crouched down and gingerly set the hangover treatments onto the floor beside him, Natsu lifted his head slightly to examine the remedies.

"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely, the sound sending a brief thrill down Lucy's spine.

When he reached out for the pills and the cup, Lucy, still eye-level with him, said quietly, "So you don't remember anything after you guys drank?"

She waited a short moment for Natsu to pop the pills and down a fourth of the liquid with them. "Well...wait, I bet I came over, huh? And then...ahhh...I think you got nervous and askin' if something was wrong...and then I came in…"

Lucy's heart quickened. Maybe it was a bad idea to have pushed the Dragon Slayer one more time to try to remember.

"...And…"

Ohhh no God, Mavis, _Zeref_, wait, wait, wait, stop, this was_ not _what she wanted—!

"Oh!" exclaimed Natsu, his face immediately brightening several megawatts and, for a moment, Lucy almost couldn't believe that he was currently the victim of a hangover. Even so, Lucy's heart dropped at the sight of Natsu's apparent realization. "That's right, I need you to teach me how to do _it_! From the meeting to the next morning!"

In brilliant contrast to Natsu's excitement, with a sigh and a slap of her palm to her forehead, Lucy said exasperatedly, "And do you remember what I said to that the first time?"

Natsu paused for a moment and scrunched his face up in serious thought.

"Not at all," he finally admitted with a sheepish albeit wide grin.

"'_No'_!" she snapped, putting down her hand so she could glare freely at the boy. "And I don't understand why you'd come to _me_ of all people!"

"C'mon Luce, you're the best and only person I can think of!" whined Natsu. "You're the only one I can ask who won't kill me, you're a good teacher, you're my best friend…"

And with each listing, Lucy's heart swelled up a tad more. He didn't say these things often and yes, he was blatantly sweet-talking her but screw it if it wasn't working—

"...And, well, with the way you dress sometimes, a guy kinda assumes things, y'know?"

—On second thought, never mind, she thought angrily after abruptly crashing on her way up to cloud nine.

"Then why don't you just _assume _something like...like coitus?" the Mage snapped. At Natsu's confused expression, Lucy sighed and was one step closer to being defeated, even if by aggravation. "Why?" she tried again wearily. "I mean, something like that should be instinct, right?"

"Ha, well, you know, I'm eighteen and never done it before so...might as take the chance to get good and make up for lost time by asking someone I'm comfortable with to teach me what, er, you know, you guys like?" stumbled Natsu sheepishly with a cheeky smile, scratching the back of his head.

Lucy stared blankly at Natsu.

This was no doubt by far the most unbelievable, awkward, and crazy conversation she had ever had with him.

"...Lucy?" said the Dragon Slayer tentatively after a few seconds, peering rather concernedly at her. Geez, as if_ she _was the one who needed their brain checked right now!

Said Celestial Spirit Mage stared down with creased brow at her fists, turmoil washing around in her like a storm. On one hand, this so-called "favor" was absolutely preposterous. "Favors" were tagging along on a mission, lending some extra firepower, paying for a drink because the other person had forgotten their wallet—_not_ teaching one of your best friends how to have intercourse.

But on the other hand...maybe favors was a loose term. Maybe it included things that you really needed (or wanted so bad to the point of need), like getting you into the guild of your dreams or uprooting a damn rainbow cherry blossom tree just to relocate it outside your window. Maybe it also included things like saving your life several times and being an everlasting pillar of strength, inspiration, and solace. If things were put _that _way, then yes, a wave of indebtedness would no doubt come crashing down on Lucy and she would realize that she owed the doofus more than he probably even realized.

Another fraction of a second passed before a wave of indebtedness came crashing down on Lucy and she realized that she owed the doofus more than he probably even realized. Her answer along with its allied reasons was quickly shaping up solidly in her mind, though even with everything he had done for her, there was no way she wasn't at least slightly mental to about to agree to this.

Even if Natsu was the one suffering from the hangover, Lucy felt like she was the one who had ingested all the alcohol because really, if she wasn't drunk, then how and why in the world would she be throwing up her arms and surrendering hotly, "_Fine_! Fine, I'll do it."

Almost immediately, Natsu's face lit up even moreso than when he had remembered the events of the night before. A toothy grin he only ever reserved for the end of a hard fought battle graced his lips. In contrast, Lucy's expression was contorted into a stiff, unamused pout, but in the back of her mind, she mused that maybe, just maybe, it was okay to do something like this if it meant making Natsu as happy as his actions had made her over the past year or so.

"_But _on _my_ rules!" she added hastily before he could get too far ahead of himself. "Number one, _I'm _the...the _teacher_, so _I _make the rules. Number two, I'm going to teach you my way and thoroughly, so we won't...we won't be waking up _naked_ tomorrow together or anything...which also means that this is going to take _time_, and I'm not going to be sending you into the local Magnolia bar to hit on girls by tonight! Rule number three, _nobody _can know about this, and I'm going to tie myself to that, too, do you understand? That means nobody! Not Master, not Erza, not Gray, not Levy—"

"Not Happy?" interjected Natsu, looking slightly crestfallen.

"_Especially _not Happy," she grit out. When Natsu said nothing more and instead only gave her a contemplating look, Lucy took that as her cue to continue. "And...well, with things like this, when you're in the heat of the moment, sometimes, it can get a bit difficult to...stop. That's why both of us have to promise right here, right now, in addition to everything else, that if either of us are too uncomfortable at any given point, the other has to stop everything. Natsu, I'm...a little more experienced than you, but you're stronger than me by tenfold. That's why, for both my and your safety…" She had trailed off, hoping he'd get the implication while saving both of them further embarrassment. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I got it," said Natsu, smiling as he held out his pinky to the blonde. "I'd never hurt you, Luce. Promise."

Lucy beamed as a shy tinge of pink tinted her ears. Whether it was from the subject and general context of their current agreement or Natsu's genuine oath just now, who knew? Either way, it didn't really matter—what did matter was that she proceeded to loop her pinky around his, and then they shook on it with a tone of finality that only handshakes and pinky promises could offer.

"So when do we start?" Natsu asked eagerly after releasing her little finger.

With a small snort, Lucy gently pushed him back into the pillow and reinstated the glass of hangover remedy back into his hands. Ignoring the confused look he shot her, she said nonchalantly as she stood up and began ambling over to her bathroom, "I'm still not sure about all this, and even though I don't know where this came from, I'm willing to be serious if you're serious. So, if you do want to go through with this, then the first thing you need to know is that once you've set your mind to something, you have to go for it with everything you have." She chuckled and was a step away from entering her bathroom when she stopped. "I know this is already pretty much part of your ethics, but it includes defeating enemies, hard tasks, _and_ pretty girls across the room."

And with that, a few seconds, and a door shut later, Natsu was staring at a wooden door with a goofy grin and the word "_Yes!_" echoing through his mind.

* * *

-*-x-*-

* * *

so hey did anybody get the implication (unintentional on Lucy's behalf but completely guilty on mine) at the end of the scene how Lucy was "(a pretty girl) across the (bed)room"? :)...huehuehue

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviews are super appreciated!

-Apheleia


	3. Breakfast

Their walk to Fairy Tail that morning was relatively quiet.

Thoughts and speculation ran through Lucy's mind at breakneck speeds as she overanalyzed just about every single one. It was vexing because there were too many questions she didn't quite have the courage to ask, weird because she never expected to be in a situation like this in even a million years, and vexing again because _damnitwhydidhelookasupbeatandnormalashealwaysdidwh ileshewasleftfloundering_?

Yes, he was strolling along confidently, easily while the morning sun glimmered off his hair and his arms were bent behind his head and his eyes were shut and his mouth was curved in a contented smile and he just seemed so criminally relaxed while it was all Lucy could do to not slouch over and emit a zombie-esque aura.

All in all, Natsu was rather oblivious to Lucy's discomfort, but at least the silence between them wasn't unbearable. It wasn't entirely comfortable (at least for Lucy), but it wasn't horribly awkward either, a fact which was easily evidenced when they neared the Fairy Tail building and Natsu said, "Hey, Luce, wanna go on a mission today?"

Lucy made a small hum of contemplation. "I'm not sure, I _do _have a lot of chores to do. Not to mention, we just went on one yesterday."

"It's been a while since we've only had one with you and me, though," noted Natsu. "Well, and Happy."

"Mm, well, we'll see," said Lucy nonchalantly as a small thrill ran through her gut at the implication that Natsu wanted and possibly _liked _going on missions with only her...and Happy.

"Oh, it's Gajeel!" said Natsu jubilantly as the Iron Dragon Slayer left the guild and headed towards the two on the same trail. Pantherlily hung from his shoulder, an amicable expression on the Exceed's face as he recognized the two coming up the path while Gajeel bore one of his usual indifference, though there was a rare shine of glee in his eyes.

"Blondie, Natsu," he acknowledged with a slight nod at each of their names, resulting in a grin from Natsu and Lucy barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Good morning, Lily," she said instead with a polite smile, turning her attention towards the cat.

"Lucy," Pantherlily greeted in return. "Are you two heading into the guild?"

"Yeah. Are you guys heading out onto a mission?" replied Natsu.

"Not exactly a mission, just somethin' interesting I want to check out," said Gajeel, exchanging a knowing look and smirk with Pantherlily.

"Then we'll get out of your way," said Lucy, side-stepping Gajeel as Natsu followed suit. Turning around to look at the man and the Exceed without breaking pace, she called, "Be safe, alright?"

"Of course, ma," said Gajeel lazily as he continued on his way, leaving Lucy and Natsu to turn forward again and continue their way to Fairy Tail front-side first.

"He looked happy, huh?" mused Lucy. "I don't think I've ever seen Gajeel so excited before."

"Yeah, maybe he found a new training buddy," said Natsu, expression newly morphing into a determined kind-of-getting-fired-up way.

Lucy chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think that's really the case," she said as they finally reached the Fairy Tail building's entrance. Natsu reached out to pull open the door for them, and he went in after Lucy did so with a quick word of thanks.

It was about ten, so the guild was already bustling. Half of the members who were planning to do a mission that day had already left, and everyone else in the front room—including the ones staying in for the day—constituted about a third of the base's total mage count. Lucy quickly found Levy in the middle of the dining hall, and after a smile and a "see you later" to Natsu, she made her way over to her friend to excitedly tell her about the progress she'd made on her book last night.

* * *

Natsu watched Lucy meander away for a few seconds. Judging by the direction in which she was heading, he assumed that she was aiming for Levy. His guess was proven correct a few seconds later when Lucy slid into the booth that Levy was occupying, and the two automatically launched into chatter. With a slight shrug, Natsu looked away from the two and scanned the room for anyone _he _could talk to.

His answer came in the form of a certain half-naked Ice Mage who was slumped over on the bar counter and clearly suffering from a severe hangover.

Natsu grinned. _Dumbass._

He ambled over to Gray with a slight bit of cockiness in his step until he was right next to him. Then, leaning down until his mouth was beside the Ice Mage, Natsu said loudly, "Yo, idiot!"

"Go away, you ass," was the curt, grumpy reply. Natsu reveled in the fact that Gray had noticeably cringed at the loud sound of his voice.

"Why don't you just get a hangover treatment?" he asked, taking a seat on the bar stool next to Gray's.

"Mirajane says I deserve it and won't give me anything, and my head hurts too damn much to lift off this counter," muttered Gray. Under his breath, he added, "Devil woman."

"I heard that, Gray," was the lilting remark a few yards away, courtesy of said "devil woman". Natsu looked up to see a smiling, all-too-innocent Mirajane drying off a plate, and he grinned in response.

"Dumbass," said Natsu, returning his gaze to the Ice Mage in front of him. A slight sense of satisfaction spread through him as he finally voiced his initial judgment of Gray for the day aloud.

"How are _you _okay?" grumbled Gray. "If I remember right, you drink just as much as I did last night."

Natsu shrugged. "Lucy helped me out this morning."

"You went over to her place last night?" said Gray apprehensively, turning his head to look at Natsu. "_Drunk_?"

"Yeah…? What's the big deal?" retorted Natsu.

"Ugh, never mind," muttered Gray as he pressed his forehead into the polished wood of the counter as if somehow trying to rid a headache.

"Hey, speaking of which, d'ya still remember our bet from last night?"

"Uh...bet," said Gray, pinching his brow in concentration. After a moment, he started inquisitively, "Something about your virgini—" but was cut off (yet again) by a punch to the face.

"Don't say it out _loud_," hissed Natsu, leaning into the Ice Mage slightly to prevent giving any satisfaction to nearby eavesdroppers. He looked around shiftily, and after Mirajane left the bar with a small clipboard and he decided that no one was paying attention to them, he turned back to Gray.

"Screw you," Gray eventually spat as he gingerly nursed his cheek with one hand while attempting to massage away his evidently intensified headache with the other. "Keep doing that and I swear I'll kill you once I'm done with this hangover."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talkin', Ice Brain," said Natsu, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, is our bet still on?"

"The one that's going to end in your total humiliation?" said Gray, smirking. "Hell yeah it is."

"Good," said Natsu with a smirk even more confident than Gray's, a dim fire blazing in his eyes, "'cause I've been waiting for some easy pocket change."

* * *

Some twenty minutes later, Lucy and Levy were just wrapping up their discussion of their latest plot bunnies when Mirajane headed towards their booth with a plate of steaming omelettes, pancakes, and hash browns.

"Here, Lucy, your breakfast," said Mirajane cheerily as she set the plate down in front of said blonde, along with a set of basic silverware.

"Thanks, Mirajane, this smells wonderful," said Lucy, smiling as she ogled the delicious food. She then looked up at the blue-haired mage sitting across from her. "Do you want some, Levy?"

"Ah, tempting as that sounds, I have to go soon and I'm afraid that if I start, I won't stop," laughed Levy. "Besides, I already ate."

"Can I get you two anything else?" said Mirajane lightly.

"No, thank you," said Lucy as she unwrapped her knife and fork. "Levy?"

"I'm fine," said Levy. Mirajane nodded and turned to begin to walk away, and then Levy eagerly resumed her and Lucy's conversation with, "So, what kind of wizard do you think you'll make her?"

Just as Lucy was about to reply with something, Mirajane paused and turned back to the two, a thought having struck her. "Lucy?"

The blonde's mouth was open but the answer to Levy's question didn't come out, so she closed it before giving Levy a meaningful look and then tilting her head to Mirajane. "Yes?"

"I don't mean to pry, but…" she began as she took a few steps back towards Lucy and Levy's booth, her face the epitome of kind innocence. "Did Natsu ask you a...favor yesterday?"

Mirajane watched as Lucy's smile froze for the better part of a second, and shock and a slight tinge of fear crept up into the Celestial Sprit Mage's eyes. Her cutting of her pancake faltered for a moment before resuming, albeit slowly. Both of them ignored Levy's confused expression and question of, "Favor?"

"Ah...yes," Lucy eventually said carefully, her eyes now clearly gauging every one of Mirajane's movements. "How did you…?"

"You hear things while on the night bar shift," was her easy, laughing response. "What did you say?"

A visible blush crept up Lucy's neck and cheeks, and she shifted her gaze to stare determinedly at her food. "I...I said okay."

Mirajane blinked. She hadn't been expecting _that._

Lucy looked up at the older girl again, now shy and clearly embarrassed out of her wits. "Don't...don't judge me, okay?" she said, her voice teetering on a whimper. Then, after a pause, she added in a whisper, "And don't tell anyone either!"

"Your secret's safe with me," Mirajane assured with a wink. "But I can't say I'm not surprised. After all, out of Team Natsu, you're usually the sensical one," she mused, resting her hand on her cheek thoughtfully. Her words resulted in Lucy emitting a small groan.

"It's...payback for everything he's done for me," said Lucy weakly.

"It's still a bit uncharacteristic of you, Lucy," Mirajane noted. "Well, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into."

Lucy nodded stiffly, the flushing of her skin finally beginning to ebb away.

"Be careful," warned Mirajane lightly, to which Lucy nodded again solemnly. After shooting the blonde one more smile, Mirajane took the lingering silence as her cue to turn and leave. In her wake, she heard Levy's excited yet hushed voice ask, "So what was that all about?"

"N-nothing!" she heard Lucy retort in a tone just as quiet, and even when Mirajane was out of earshot from the two, a knowing smile still loitered on her lips. Somehow, she had a feeling that there was more as to why Lucy had accepted the favor, even if Natsu was a very good friend.

It was another page to fill in her Natsu/Lucy notes, but this time, she was rather convinced that this would cause several dozen more.

* * *

About three-fourths into Lucy's breakfast, Levy said good-bye to Lucy and got up to leave the Fairy Tail building in order to run a few errands. Not even thirty seconds after the Solid Script Mage left, Natsu slid into the previously occupied seat with a hearty grin, leaving Lucy to stare blankly at the Dragon Slayer with a forkful of hash browns halfway to her mouth.

"So, Lucy, wanna do a mission today?"

Lucy shrugged nonchalantly, and even though a part of her wanted to shy away and say no because it was a bit awkward to be around him right now (even if it wasn't the case for him), she still found herself replying, "Sure. Do you have one in mind?"

"Nah, but we can check out the mission board after you're done eating."

Lucy nodded, resuming the consumption of her breakfast. The only difference between before and after Natsu got here, though, was the feeling of being meticulously watched while she ate.

A comforting sensation, indeed.

"So...by the way," said Natsu after about half a minute, his mouth splitting open to reveal a toothy, sheepish smile. "When are you gonna keep teaching me?"

Lucy nearly choked on her food but fought against it, suavely ridding the dry, uncomfortable sensation in her throat with a swift gulp of water from her glass. She looked up at Natsu, who hadn't seemed to have noticed any sign of discomfort from her and was only grinning expectantly at her.

"Um…" she began, slightly hoarse. "Well, just to clarify, I'm teaching you how to impress a girl enough for a one-night stand, right? And also the details of that one-night stand."

"Yeah, something like that."

Lucy exhaled a sigh of exasperation as a shade of light pink crept into her ears. "Okay, well...the next step is the first part of the night, right? In other words, the meeting, flirting, introducing."

Natsu nodded gravely.

"So here's what we'll do," said Lucy, daring to look up straight at Natsu. "Tomorrow, sometime around early evening, we'll go to the Magnolia Maple. Do you know where it is?"

"The bar on the other side of town?"

"That's right. We'll go in separately, pretend to be strangers, and when I sit down, you can come over and try to flirt with me. We'll stop the act when you mess up—"

"_When_ I mess up?" echoed Natsu, obviously slightly insulted.

"—and I'll tell you what you did wrong," said Lucy, a small smile playing on her lips. "Then we'll keep going and maybe even go through a few rounds of it. We'll have dinner while we're at it, and then eventually, we'll come home."

Natsu considered this. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright," said Lucy, finishing the last of her food and getting up. "It's a date."

* * *

-*-x-*-

* * *

:)

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-Apheleia


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